Biosphere Book Club -- Book #2: Abundance
2026-03-25 19:00 - 20:15 (America/New_York) | Zoom
We Foster Reflections on Climate and Environment!
Our March 2026 Book is Abundance, by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson.
Please register HERE.
Of all the books that Energize Acton volunteers display at community events, this book–Abundance, by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson–has generated the most enthusiasm and interest.
The blurb that went out with the book calls it a “once-in-a-generation, paradigm-shifting call to renew a politics of plenty, face up to the failures of liberal governance, and abandon the chosen scarcities that have deformed American life.” Katherine Sypher, of NPR, writes, “The woes of the world can be paralyzing. It was refreshing, therefore, to be called to action by Abundance. Well-known journalists and podcast hosts Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson argue that, yes, we really can build and invent our way to the better future that we want and need.”
This title focuses largely on politics and economics, but it has many connections to climate and environment. We suggest that you approach the authors’ work with an open, but critical, mind. As with every Book Club text, it is great if you can read the book, but it is not required. The host will prepare a brief outline of the text with key quotes and discussion points constructed in a way that all can participate. The Biosphere Book Club will meet every other month in 2026–January, March, May, July, September, and November. In May, we hope to try for an in-person or hybrid meeting.
To whet your thoughts for this month, here are a few initial questions.

What does abundance mean to you?
Do you or others in your family experience scarcity? E.g., related to consumer goods, healthcare/health insurance, housing, childcare, etc.?
What are the ecological and human costs of material abundance?
Have you heard of the concept, “Joy in enough”?

Big questions aside, pour yourself a cup of tea or other beverage, have a good time, and celebrate the written word!
Please register HERE.
EnergizeActon.org is sponsored by the Acton Climate Coalition and the Town of Acton Sustainability Office.
Would you like to help EnergizeActon.org? Contact us at EnergizeActon.org@gmail.com. We meet the first Wednesday of each month. However, there are many non-meeting ways to be involved. Thanks for your support!

Clean Energy SCHOOL Tour
2026-04-22 16:30 - 18:00 | 75 Spruce St., Acton, MA, 75 Spruce Street, Acton, MA, 01720, United States
The Boardwalk School Campus:
An Acton Clean Energy Success!

This April, EnergizeActon.org has a special treat—a Clean Energy SCHOOL Tour!

Please register HERE.
We like to offer home tours, so that local residents can see how clean energy technology actually works on the ground. It is also an important opportunity for people to ask questions of the host about what worked well, what might have been challenging, and what were the costs. However, seeing clean energy on a larger scale is also incredibly helpful. This event, co-sponsored with Mothers Out Front Acton, celebrates the expertise and success of leadership from the Acton-Boxborough School District alongside additional hard work and achievement from Town of Acton staff. Join us and ask how clean energy works in school and municipal buildings.
The new Gates and Douglas Schools (commonly known as the Boardwalk Campus) are an amazing accomplishment for the school district. When planners first envisioned the project, they estimated future energy efficiencies and savings. Well, the Boardwalk Campus has consistently outperformed ALL those estimates! And this is true even though not every element of the clean energy project was implemented. We invite you to tour the building and see how clean energy choices do indeed work.
In 2024, Mass Save recognized the Acton-Boxborough Regional School District as a Climate Leader for the Boardwalk Campus. Mass Save wrote that the award goes to “institutions that demonstrate excellence in reducing environmental impact and associated costs, fostering the health and well-being of students and staff, and implementing effective interdisciplinary sustainability education,” standards met by Acton “with flying colors.” The school project also won a Green Building Showcase Award, among other honors.
The Acton Exchange writes, “The building, which opened in 2022 and has drawn national attention, includes a fully electric, commercial-scale kitchen, enhanced insulation, ground-source heat pumps, demand-control ventilation, and energy recovery. Energy Use Intensity (EUI) goals for the building have exceeded state targets.”

Join us to celebrate this success!
Please Register HERE.
Apologies, but this tour is limited to 30 individuals.
We will keep a waiting list if we surpass 30 sign-ups.

Heat Pumps 101
2026-04-22 19:00 - 20:00 | Zoom
Go Heat Pumps!

You may have heard more people in Massachusetts talking about heat pumps—and for good reason. Heat pumps are an efficient, all-electric system that can heat and cool your home while lowering emissions and improving comfort year-round. Join wonderful Bob Zogg of the HeatSmart Alliance and animated Kit Wu of the Laminar Collective to get an orientation to heat pumps, how they work, and how incentives can help you transition to clean energy.
Here’s why heat pumps are gaining popularity across Massachusetts:
Heating and cooling in one efficient system
Heat pumps provide both heating in the winter and cooling in the summer. They’re highly efficient, even in cold New England temperatures, and can help lower your energy use.
Lower emissions and a cleaner energy future
Heating with fossil fuels is one of the largest sources of climate pollution in Massachusetts. Switching to heat pumps helps reduce your home’s carbon footprint and supports the state’s transition to clean electricity.
Comfort, safety, and better indoor air quality
Heat pumps don’t burn fuel inside your home, which means no on-site combustion and fewer indoor air pollutants. They also provide steady, even heating and cooling.
Incentives can cover thousands of dollars
Programs like Mass Save offer generous rebates, 0% interest financing, and support to help make heat pumps more affordable. Additional programs through organizations like the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center may also be available.
📣 Curious if heat pumps are right for you?
Join our webinar to learn how heat pumps work, compare costs, explore available incentives, and learn how to get quotes from trusted installers.

April 22, 2026, at 7:00 PM
Register: bit.ly/heat-pumps-101
Together, we can create more comfortable homes and a cleaner energy future for our communities.

An Acton Clean Energy Coach explains his heat pump system. (Photo: K. Root Watkins)

Bioblitz! Nature of Acton and Boxborough 2026
2026-04-24 08:00 - 2026-05-04 20:30 | Acton/Boxborough Yards, Parks, and Conservation Lands, Acton, 01720, United States
Please join the Nature of Acton and Boxborough 2026 Bioblitz this April.

We invite you to document and celebrate biodiversity in Acton and Boxborough! Last year 26 participants made almost 1000 observations and identified over 500 species in the Acton and Boxborough area. Let’s make even more observations this year! How does one participate? You just need a smartphone, the directions below, and time outdoors between April 24–May 4, 2026.
Directions

To join, first create an account on iNaturalist on your phone at www.iNaturalist.org.
Then, join our Project. You can search for our Project on the Community tab on your phone.
Search for Nature of Acton and Boxborough April 2026 or click here: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/nature-of-acton-and-boxborough-2026 (Please make sure you are joining the 2026 project, not the 2025 project!)

Observations can be uploaded from April 24–May 4, 2026. But the Boston Area City Nature Challenge will only count observations from April 24 to 27, so it’s important to make observations during that time period as well. For more information about the Boston Area CNC, visit: https://www.bostoncnc.org/
There are over 2,000 acres of conservation areas in Acton and Boxborough with a variety of habitats, such as cattail marshes, ponds, open fields and dense forests. These habitats host snapping turtles, reptiles, frogs, insects, birds, mammals, and many plant species. Another 3,000 acres of private land provides habitat for wildlife, including two steps outside your door! What kind of wildlife lives here? Let’s find out this April!
Then snap away at any plant, animal or fungus you see and get it on our list. Can we break 500 species this year? Who can ID the most? Taking observations of wildlife helps advance science too! According to National Geographic, “High quality data uploaded to iNaturalist become part of the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, an open source database used by scientists and policy makers around the world.”
This is a fun activity for your family and to celebrate Earth Month.
This Bioblitz is a collaboration of people from the Acton Conservation Trust, the Boxborough Conservation Trust, Energize Acton, and the Town of Acton Sustainability Office, along with individuals from Green Acton, AB Steam, Acton Men’s Outdoor Club, Congregation Beth Elohim and the Discovery Museum.

Earth Week MiniFest
2026-04-24 10:00 - 12:00 | The Red House, 468 Main St, Acton, 01720, United States
Crafts
Storytime
Free Seedlings
Tree Planting
and More!

Join the Acton Sustainability Office at the “Red House,” 468 Main Street in Acton for lots of fun family activities brought to you by municipal employees and community volunteers. Just come on over! Parking is available at Town Hall and the Acton Memorial Library.
Hooray for the Earth!

Climate Goals: Why Heat Pumps Matter
2026-04-29 19:00 - 20:00 | Zoom
Massachusetts Heat Pump Targets:
Where Do We Stand and Why Are They Important?

As the MA legislature considers cutting clean energy incentives, do climate goals still matter? Join Amanda Barker, of the Green Energy Consumers Alliance, as she looks at a specific slice of the climate picture–how we heat and cool our homes and buildings. What are Massachusetts heat pump goals and are we on track to meet them? Can heat pumps work in the north? Outlining Maine’s success story with cold weather heat pumps, she looks at new Massachusetts heating and cooling solutions, including the heat pump discount rate and the New England heat pump accelerator program. Please join us for this hopeful talk about heat pumps as part of a strong, reliable energy future.
Energize Acton is celebrating heat pumps this month (ground source heat pumps—geothermal—in the Boardwalk Campus and air source heat pumps for households). Amanda’s talk will give us a bigger view as the State of Massachusetts takes on both the challenges we face and the potential for success.
Some Background
Last fall, a Massachusetts House of Representatives committee floated the idea of a significant step back from state climate goals. After an outcry from the environmental community, this winter the Mass House of Representatives passed its new proposed climate bill* that saw improvements over the fall version. However, it still includes major funding cuts to Mass Save. In effect, without an alternative to Mass Save, this is a step back from state climate targets for clean energy. (*The Massachusetts Senate will do its own version of a climate bill and the two versions, House and Senate, will have to be reconciled.)
Some voices in the media—and in the legislature—are saying that clean energy is too costly. They claim that, by cutting back on Mass Save and slowing the transition to clean energy, the state government can lower energy costs.
Massachusetts energy costs are an incredibly valid issue. The question is, “Will reducing our commitment to clean energy also reduce heating, cooling, and electricity costs for Massachusetts residents?” Energy in New England is a tough topic! But the Green Energy Consumers Alliance will lay out the argument that achieving climate goals for heat pumps and other forms of electrification will save costs in the long run and, for many, even in the short run.
Current events bring home the reality that we live in a complicated world. Committing to renewable energy brings New England a higher degree of energy stability and reliability. Plus, the western United States (really, the west of all the Americas, from Canada to Chile) just experienced an extraordinarily hot March, racing past all previous records. This reminds us that fossil fuels also have costs. As much of the world is successfully implementing clean energy, let’s remember . . . We can do this! And it could even be affordable!

Biosphere Book Club - May Title: Braiding Sweetgrass
2026-05-27 19:00 - 20:00 | Zoom
Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teaching of Plants
“Even a wounded world is feeding us. Even a wounded world holds us, giving us moments of wonder and joy. I choose joy over despair. Not because I have my head in the sand, but because joy is what the earth gives me daily and I must return the gift.”
― Robin Wall Kimmerer

Register HERE.
Another book that has received many comments at Energize Acton book displays is Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teaching of Plants, by Robin Wall Kimmerer. This book has been on the New York Times bestseller list for over five years! In this age of power politics and “the art of the deal” it says something that Braiding Sweetgrass has spoken to so many people for such an extended time.
The late Jane Goodall wrote of it this way. “Robin Wall Kimmerer has written an extraordinary book, showing how the factual, objective approach of science can be enriched by the ancient knowledge of the indigenous people. It is the way she captures beauty that I love the most—the images of giant cedars and wild strawberries, a forest in the rain and a meadow of fragrant sweetgrass will stay with you long after you read the last page.”
Many of you may have already read this text or parts of it. Whether you have read it or not, we invite you to join us for a discussion of some of Robin Wall Kimmerer’s guiding principles, exploring themes such as thanksgiving, reciprocity, and our relationship to the natural world. Our last book choice, Abundance, was reviewed as a “once-in-a-generation, paradigm-shifting call.” But Braiding Sweetgrass might better fit that description! Kimmerer, a trained botanist, knows the science of plants, but she also sees them as teachers. Rather than place humans at the pinnacle of all life, her First Nations perspective teaches that “humans are the younger brothers of Creation,” with a lot to learn from other species. That is definitely a shift in outlook!
As with every Book Club text, it is great if you can read the book, but it is not required. This month will be a zoom meeting. The host will prepare a brief outline of the text with key quotes and discussion points constructed in a way that all can participate. However, if you are able to focus on a handful of chapters, please consider the chapters listed below.

Skywoman Falling
The Gift of Strawberries
Learning the Grammar of Animacy
Allegiance to Gratitude
The Honorable Harvest
The Sacred and the Superfund

Thank you for caring about the natural world and for considering our small discussion! But big themes aside, pour yourself a cup of tea or other beverage, have a good time, and join us to celebrate the written word!
Register HERE.
EnergizeActon.org is sponsored by the Acton Climate Coalition and the Town of Acton Sustainability Office.
Would you like to help EnergizeActon.org? Contact us at EnergizeActon.org@gmail.com. We meet the first Wednesday of each month. However, there are many non-meeting ways to be involved. Thanks for your support!

Clean Energy Home Tour of the Month
2026-05-30 10:00 - 13:00 | Central Acton
See Energy Updates to a 1793 Farmhouse!
Register HERE.
The home is near Acton’s historic district, but the specific address will be sent after registration. There will be two separate tours – a 10:00am Tour and a 1:00pm Tour.
Do you have an older home? Are you thinking about replacing your oil or gas furnace with high-efficiency air source heat pumps? Come visit this historic property, with a large 1793 farmhouse, and learn about the steps taken to make this home more energy efficient, including new insulation, windows, air source heat pumps and solar panels. Your hosts are eager to share what worked, what was less successful, and what actions other residents might tackle first in their own homes. This is a great opportunity to explore the unique energy challenges that come with homes built in other eras. Plus, it is an awesome property that many of us drive past every day!
We hope that one of Acton’s Clean Energy Coaches will also be on hand for the tour. There will be a 10:00am session and a 1:00pm session. As usual, coffee and snacks will be on hand, along with the latest resources from EnergizeActon.org, including the most up-to-date information on incentives.
Register HERE.
When: Saturday, May 30th with a 10:00am tour and a 1:00pm tour.
Where: Main Street, Acton (Address sent upon registration.)
The technologies you will see in this home include:

27 panel rooftop solar system;
3 air source heat pumps (ducted);
Energy Recovery Ventilators (ERV);
Ultra efficient heat pump hot water heater;
Rehabilitated historical windows with storms;
Induction stove and energy star appliances;
EV (2017 Tesla) and level 2 car charger;
Fireplace with top sealing damper and makeup air vent;
24W backup generator with critical-loads electrical panel; and
Water conservation measures inside and out.

After registration you will receive an email with the house address and specific information about parking, etc. Thank you for your interest!
EnergizeActon.org is co-sponsored by the Acton Climate Coalition and the Town of Acton Sustainability Office.
Do you have ideas or a talent you would like to contribute? Please contact us at EnergizeActon.org@gmail.com. The Energize Acton team meets the 1st Wednesday of each month.
